Samsung among 'winners' at 2016 Shonky Awards

Exploding smartphone batteries, camel milk that claims to help people with autism and $20 cans of clean Australian air have been named and shamed at this year's Shonky Awards.

An exploded Samsung Galaxy Note 7

An exploded Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Source: Ariel Gonzalez/YouTube

Consumer advocate group, Choice, has "honoured" nine products and services at the 11th annual Shonky Awards.

For the second year running, electronics giant Samsung was singled out for selling a product that posed a fire risk.

Last year it was a top-loading washing machine that was eventually recalled.

This year, it was 50,000 Galaxy Note7 phones where faulty components caused batteries to explode.

"This is really disappointing," Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey said.
"Last year Samsung got a Shonky for its washing machines. There were more than 300 incidents of fires across the country.

"Just months ago they put 51,060 dodgy Galaxy Note7s on the market. We think Samsung needs to take a long hard look at what's going wrong at the heart of its business."

Nestle's Milo was also called out for its 4.5 star health rating.

Choice said this rating only applied when the product was consumed with skim milk; on its own, the rating was 1.5 stars.

Kellogg's was slammed for making customers think they were saving money by dropping the price of its Pringles potato chips, when in fact they had decreased the size of their tubes, along with the length and weight of the chips.

The saturated fat content, however, went up by 60 per cent.

Camel Milk Victoria has been referred to the ACCC after claiming its product fought off bacteria and infections, while providing "aid" to customers living with autism, diabetes, tuberculosis, and cancer.

The Shonkys ceremony also included multiple skits poking fun at Green and Clean, a company that claims to bottle air from the Blue Mountains, Bondi, New Zealand and Tasmania. A dozen cans cost $246.26.

Choice CEO Alan Kirkland said: "The Shonkys are the awards that we'd prefer not to give out, but yet again we've caught out some of the world's biggest brands with misleading advertising, dangerous products and sneaky tricks to rip off customers."

Check out the full list here.

-With AAP

Share
2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: SBS News


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
Samsung among 'winners' at 2016 Shonky Awards | SBS News